| Quantity: | 1 box (ca. 0.25 cubic ft.) |
|---|---|
| Access: | Open to research |
| Acquisition: | Purchase, Henkels, 1925 |
| Processed By: | Vicki Weiss, Librarian, Manuscripts and Special Collections, February 2013 |
In August 1777 Captain Andreas Emmerich (sometimes spelled Emmerick), an experienced military officer from Germany, was authorized to raise a company of rifle-armed marksmen from the Provincial regiments. Emmerich's chasseurs distinguished themselves in Sir Henry Clinton's campaign in the Hudson Highlands in October 1777. Having proved its effectiveness, the corps was expanded in 1778 to a small legion of riflemen, light infantrymen, and light dragoons, with Emmerich as its lieutenant colonel. Benjamin Ogden of Westchester County was apparently a captain of a company of dragoons in Emmerich's battalion.
This collection consists of printed forms signed by men joining the battalion (corps) of chasseurs under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Emmerich. All the documents are dated either 1778 or 1779; nearly three-fourths are dated between May and July of 1778.
Several of the forms specify that the enlistee is to serve in Captain Benjamin Ogden's troop in the battalion, and some of the forms have notes signed by Emmerick saying the enlistee is to serve in that troop.
Each form consists of two parts. In the first part, each man, identified by age and trade, "declare[s] … I have no Rupture, nor ever was troubled with Fits; that I am not disabled by Lameness or otherwise, and that I have voluntarily inlisted [sic] myself to serve his Majesty King George the Third, as a Private Dragoon during the present Rebellion or Disturbance in America" in Lieut. Colonel Andreas Emmerick's Corps [Battalion] of Chasseurs. The document the individual signs also states that he has "received the Inlisting [sic] Money which I agreed for." Some of the men "sign" by making an X.
The second part of the form is a certification signed by David Oakley, Justice, or by Benj'n Kipp, that the individual signing the form "voluntarily inlisted himself to serve his Majesty King George the Third in Emmerick's corps "and doth acknowledge to have heard read unto him the second and sixth Sections of the Articles of War, against Mutiny and Desertion, and tool the Oath of Fidelity mentioned in the Articles of War."
There are some discrepancies in the spelling of names between the name the scribe wrote on the form and the signature. The variant spellings on the document are included in square brackets [ ].
Unless otherwise indicated, all the men are from Westchester County in the Province of New York. The men range in age from 16 to 54 and most of them list their "trade" as farmer or husbandman, and at least a handful list their residence a "old England" or a variant of that.
See also: Dawson, Henry Barton. Westchester County, New York, during the American Revolution (Morrisania, New York City : [s.n.], 1886), New York State Library call number: R,974.727,qD27 and MA/FM,974.7,N5,n450,reel 111)
| Folder | Item | Enlistee's Name, Age, Trade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Akerley, Isaac, 20, millwright |
| 1 | 2 | Akerley, Reuben, 18, husbandman |
| 1 | 3 | Akerly, Abraham, 24, blacksmith |
| 1 | 4 | Akerly, William, 20, farmer |
| 1 | 5 | Ambler, John, 17, distiller (Yorkshire in South Britain) |
| 1 | 6 | Anderson, John, 16, husbandman |
| 1 | 7 | Baizley, John, 23, husbandman Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above Jno. Baizley is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 1 | 8 | Beatlebron, Antony [Beatlebrun, Anthony], 48, shoemaker |
| 1 | 9 | Bird, Thomas, 19, husbandman Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above Thomas Bird is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 1 | 10 | Briggs, Thomas, 26, farmer Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above Thomas Briggs is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 2 | 11 | Brown, John, 30, husbandman |
| 2 | 12 | Brundige, Abraham [Brundege], 17, farmer |
| 2 | 13 | Castin, Benjamin [Cartin], 17, shoemaker |
| 2 | 14 | Chappell, Jacob [Chapel], 20, weaver (New York City) |
| 2 | 15 | Cornel, Samuel, 20, blacksmith |
| 2 | 16 | Crooker, Robert, 22, miller. Note at bottom: The above Robert Crooker is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 2 | 17 | Davenport, William, 18, husbandman |
| 2 | 18 | Deane, Gilbert, 18, weaver |
| 2 | 19 | Dickinson, Gilbert, 36, husbandman (Queens County). Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above Gilbert Dickinson is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 2 | 20 | Ellis, John, 21, butcher (Suffolk in old England) |
| 3 | 21 | Fehr, Godfried [Feherr], 54, farmer (Empire of Germany) |
| 3 | 22 | Foster, John, 23, minour [miner?] (Stafford in old England) |
| 3 | 23 | Golden, Benjamin, 52, husbandman. Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above Benj'n Golden is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 3 | 24 | Green, Thomas, 40, [no occupation listed] |
| 3 | 25 | Griffin, Caleb, 30, shoemaker |
| 3 | 26 | Hammilton, John [Hamilton], 22, husbandman (Cumberland in Great Britain) |
| 3 | 27 | Hemsted, Jeremiah, 23, husbandman (Middlesex in West Jersey) |
| 3 | 28 | Hilyard, Gershom [Hilliard], 18, tailor (Somerset County, New Jersey). Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above Gerham Hilliard is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 3 | 29 | Justice, Charles [Jestis], 23, shoemaker (Queens County) |
| 3 | 30 | Ketchanson, William, [no age, no occupation] (Yorkshire in old England); to serve in "a troop of light dragoons commanded by Capt'n Sylvester Munson" in Emmerick's battalion |
| 4 | 31 | Lesley, Jasper, 17, husbandman (Philadelphia) |
| 4 | 32 | Long, Robert, 18, husbandman (York in old England) |
| 4 | 33 | Lounesbury, Gilbert [Lounsbury], 25, carpenter |
| 4 | 34 | Lyon, David, 24, husbandman |
| 4 | 35 | Marshal, Nehemiah, 21, shoemaker |
| 4 | 36 | McKearley, William [McCarley], 19, tailor [taylor] (Chester County, Pennsylvania) |
| 4 | 37 | McKeel, Joseph [McKeil], 25, husbandman |
| 4 | 38 | Merritt, Shobal [Shubael], 17, farmer |
| 4 | 39 | Purdy, Jesse, 29, husbandman |
| 4 | 40 | Rogers, Richard, 26, labourer (Chester in old England) |
| 5 | 41 | Seaman, James [Simmons], 42, carpenter. Note at bottom signed by Emmerick: The above James Simmons is to serve in Capt'n. Benj'n. Ogden's company. |
| 5 | 42 | Seely, Ephraim, 22, carpenter (Fairfield County, Connecticut) |
| 5 | 43 | Sherwood, Stephen, 20, cooper |
| 5 | 44 | Smith, Stephen, 40, husbandman |
| 5 | 45 | Sniffen, Shubel [Sniffin, Shubah], 30, husbandman |
| 5 | 46 | Sutton, Joseph, 19, husbandman |
| 5 | 47 | Vail, John [Vale], 18, husbandman |